to the santa cruz mountains,vh.b accident blocking left lane tow truck en route. big rig blocking right lane ó,[sesund 80. thompson lane at.m skillman pg&e working on a downed power pole you cannot get through. pg&e officials say they've tracked the source of a natural gas leak that forced evacuation of several homes. the gas is still leaking now. officials don't want to shut offlvtç gas to 40 other custome. they say it does not pose a danger. pg&e workers are digging in another location to shut off the leak and hope to be finished in the next half hour. a resident reported an overpowering smell of gas 7:00 last night. a strong reading of gas was picked up. crews will be at the scene all

morning repairing the damage. cñ h george h.w. bush elevatedj;]ñg fevereen,k has jn the hospital since november 29th, with compb

days. moving patrol car. the officer escaped unharmed yesterday. >> i heard a couple loud cracking sounds and saw a couple pedestrians pointing upward and a couple small branches fell on my windshield, i hit the brakes, car stopped and a tree fell on top of the car. >> a local arborist blames busy during the holidays. >> especially swirling winds that aren't coming from standard direction can cause a >> this tree fell into a creek if east palo alto, a few feet from houses that face the danger of rising flood waters over the weekend. >> there's lots of snow for skiers also danger. autopsy1r -- avalanche danger is listed in the sierra, two died

as the result of avalanches. an expert lists the ways you can tell an avalanche a likely. >> we feel the snow pack collapsing, we've had a lot of recent new snowfall, rapid warming, rain on snow, easy things to understand that nature is telling you the snow pack is unstable. >> snow pack may be unable by there's a lot. the water content of california snow pack is 146% of normal. death toll stands at seven after a storm hammered chen, forecast -- section. brandi hitt tells us more. >> reporter: deadly winter storm has dropped massive amounts of snow from arkansas midwest, illinois and indiana nor'easter. >> we tried to get out of the

parking spot, spinninging in circles. >> reporter: the storms spanned rare december tornadoes along the gulf coast. mobile, alabama hard hit >> the power went out, we ran. >> reporter: the storms are having a devastating effect on post-holiday travels. people trying to find their way home are finding cancelled flights and treacherous driving conditions. >> trying to get home or plan b, we more time with the grandkids. >> reporter: up to a foot and a half is expected in northern new england, with% expected to fall throughout friday morning. the storm brought freezing rain and sleet. for those who don't have to travel, they are making the best of it, enjoying the snow. brandi hitt, abc news, new york. we are keeping an eye on flight delays here. a check of our local airports show no delays so far this morning. sfo, oakland, san jose departures and arrivals on

time now. that could change as the morning goes on if you are flight tracker on abc7news.com. if it does change it won't be because of the rain not today with >> let's check in with mike. low clouds, other than that it is dry. we'll keep an eye on the clouds. let's talk about temperatures waiting for you when you step out 40s this morning. temperatures are not as cool as they could be, thanks to the cloud cover, 40 fairfield and livermorel6.o, 41 concord, 2 napa, 43 san jose, 45has. oakl, 48 san francisco. mostly cloudy, 40s through 7:00. increasing sunshine, low 50s at noon, low to mid 50s through 4:00, then once that sunsets clouds go away,

temperatures drop into the low to mid 40s during the evening. you don't need the umbrella vñ just sunglasses.xr tomorrow umbrellas back so is the light rain. low to mid 50s. few showers saturday low 50s, driest day and brightest day and warmest sunday with low to mid 50s. ÷ saturday snow level 4,000 feet, may get snow on mount hamiltonu. bay bridge toll this morning, expecting another light holiday weekday today, typical for this time of the clear. san mateo bridge a few brake lights everything at the limit at the end of the flat section then everything picks up as you move into foster city with no issues once you get to that

side. north 17máz%ç at santa cruz avee accident just cleared. roadwork eastbound carquinez bridge three left lanes until 8 this morning in the between high and1uñku 23rd roadk for another 20 minutes picked up at 5:00. 4:38. >> [ inaudible ] is lance armstrong giving up the fight? the deadline he faces today.jt÷ >> monitoring breaking news from walnut creek police opened fire and shot a man this morning. amy hollyfield is at the scene and will bring an update. c>> first, this morning's teczb bites. new social features headed to netflix next year. congress passed netflix amendment to privacy

protection act allowing customers to share viewing habits on facebook and other socialmbi!÷ networks. privacy provision dropped by the senate, the bill headed to the president keeps language that allows law enforcement to that allows law enforcement  a warrant. zuckerberg got a privay lesson tripped up by the site's privacy policy and a family photo she posted for friendsv:whap sharedx

good morning. you are looking live and

emeryville. you won't see rain it is dry across the bay area only a break so enjoy it while you can. now. business as usual for shoppers when the doors open this morning at are den fair mall in sacramento. -- the mall was unlock down yesterday after a fight broke out in the food court. you can see people running. police say the fight involved about 20 who took off running through the mall knocking over signs and shoppers. in the confusion some thought kagan gunman was firing shots, -- that was not the case. >> i imagined someone with a gun or just someone coming to the store and threatening us. >> we hid behind the jewelry i was like we need to get out. i'm not about to get shot. >> sacramento police say they arrested four people, nobody was hurt.

happening now, president obama is in the air right now on his way back to washington from hawaii to try to reach a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. he boarded air force one overnight and will be arriving in maryland around 8:45 this morning. the president cut short his vacation. democrats and republicans have just four days to reach a deal before mandatory budget cuts and tax increases kick in january 1st. new senator representing hawaii will arrive on capitol hill today. lt. governor will fill the seat left vacant by the death of senator daniel inouye. he was chosen from a list of three yesterday. the 40-year-old has served as state lawmaker and chairman of the hawaii democratic party. he will serve until an election in 2014. lance armstrong has until today to appeal the ban imposed on him. he lost his seven titles

december 6th, when the international cycling

buy lease coffee. no word on the -- tully's coffee. tully's has 47 stores in washington and california as well ascu numerous franchise locations tully's filed for bankrupt protection in october two other companies are interested. the bankruptcy judge could approve a deal next month. time for a check on forecast. coming? we all want to know. >> do we really? >> let us guess. >> all right guess. >> tomorrow. >> yes. >> that's no fair. you are cheating, you told her. >> educated guess. [ laughing ] [ talking over each other ] >> i want a recount. >> 4:45.

embarcadero with the lights on beautiful drive into the city when you can see this especially against the backdrop of dry weather which is what we have. cloud cover stubborn kept temperatures up and frost from forming in many areas. let's talk about temperatures 40 livermore and fairfield, 41 concord. 42 napa. 43 san jose everybody else mid to upper 40s, half moon bay 50. 50 monterey, everybody else in the upper 30s to mid 40s around the bay and inland. brighter and dry today, light rain possible tomorrow and lingering showers saturday, very, very small storm, moisteñ starved storm may be a better way to say it, dry pattern more than one day, sunday through tuesday. high pressure is dominating our weather. a lot of moisture in the

middle parts of the atmosphere, as this high moves in and takes over today, we won't have rain and we'll have mostly sunny conditions. by tomorrow evening, we are starting to see steadier rain develop, we'll have sprinkles tomorrow morning through the early afternoon, it is the latter part of the afternoon into the evening, steadier rain starts to move in for your evening plans fly day and through saturday morning. you can -- friday and through saturday morning. it becomes showers, system has a little cold air snow level 4,000 feet we could get a dusting on hamilton and points up into lake county. saturday afternoon, showers very few and far between they will be out there today mostly sunny, low to mid 50s, 56 oakland, 54 55° in san francisco and san jose,

same around monterey bay and inland, 54 to+t; 55°, 30s inla, 30s and 40s around the bay. rainfall totals for the next system, possibly quarter to half inch above 2,000 feet. sunday, monday, tuesday dry. wednesday next chance of showers. have a great day. here's sue. golden gate bridge we just had crews come northbound to pick up cones and reconfigure you will have four lanes southbound, two lanes northbound and the roadwork picked up. farther north san rafael snaking headlights past lucas valley road north san pedro towards central san rafael light, no problems golden gate bridge as we saw. from antioch at this hour light traffic, no delays as you get towards the concord area and 242, speeds at the

limit there as you make your way out of central valley, no problems, tracy from 205 up and over altamont pass into livermore, good speeds into the dublin pleasanton area onlyñng 18 minutes from altamot into the 680/580 junction. westbound 80 hilltop, big rig partially blocking the right lane. 4:49. russian president vladimir putin just announced in the last hour he will sign a bill banning americans from adopting russian children. he said he doesn't see any reason not to sign the bill. putin says u.s. authorities deny russia access to children adopted from the country. d the law will deny many russian children the opportunity to get a family. unicef estimates there are 740,000 children without parents in russia. do you use those companies

that give a cash advance for a paycheck? >> if so, you may be getting some of that money back. >> health scare for a protected panda. we'll tell you what sent teams racing to its res

good morning thursday, 4:52. live look from mount sutro toward san francisco what do you not see? rain. that's only short-lived. tomorrow the rain moves back in. mike has more on when that is going to happen, coming up. the u.s. department of commerce is due to release figures for new home sales. today's update for november will likely hold steady3íñ,ç ift rise a bit, they predict 375,000 in new sales. numbers slipped last month. new building permits ticked higher. the report is expected at 7:00 this morning. thousands of california residents could be getting a

big check thanks to a payday loan stem. san francisco city attorney herrera says 4.3 million dollars will be awarded to eligible consumers. this morning at 11 his office will announce details of a settlement. regulators are considering whether to make airlines reveal prices for baggage and other fees to online sellers like orbit and expedia. it is getting harder for compare with other airlines. airlines don't want passengers to buy based on price they want to offer customized packages. time for a check on the weather. it is not raining out there. there's a few snow showers in the sierra trying to develop for the most part quiet across the entire state. if you are heading out to

big sur, sunshine and 58, sacramento, 51, near 60 fresno more sun around southern california mid 60s sierra partly cloudy and low 40s during the afternoon. r] eureka 52.ernoon. enjoy this, tomorrow the rain and snow comes back. here's sue. macarthur maze from 580ñi>hm and 80 and 880 to the south, everything flowing smoothly into the bay bridge toll where things are light, no issues at the bay bridge this hour. westbound 80 richmond parkway, new stall blocking left lane. you may find slow traffic. eastbound 580 at macarthur boulevard a stall blocking there both directions of 880 oakland high street 23rd roadwork should be picked up

in a few minutes. here's a christmas story just waiting for a happy ending. maybe you can help. snow chain installer douglas was workingqv"s i-80 near kingve when he saw a man in panic. he said he had lost his wedding ring while installing chains, without gloves. after the man drove off, douglas decided to look for it and found it. the only problem, he doesn't know the man's name. that's where you come in. the ring is platinum with inscription lisa)hio 5th june, 2010. chance finding of a message in a bottle has made a9k homeless man's holiday season unforgettable. the message was for free tickets to the oakland zoo, the finder was to text him. it he asked us not to show his face when he talked with kira

klapper. >> it has a note in it and it says -- it? >> yes. i asked them instead of the tickets if i was to get some food. >> dan was only too happy to provide food and since has given jay warm clothing and a bike. jay is 27 and he wants people to know he doesn't want a handout he just wants a chance to work. qt)ju today. bird watchers are expected to scour the bay this morning, more than 1002'ñs volunteers wil start at dawn to6kmñ dusk, to count birds that spend their winters in san francisco. last year observers counted 176 different species and more than 60,000 individual birds. panda feeling better after an inch didn't left vets baffled. the panda was taken to a hospital after he was found throwing up.#2hrz the team performed six exams

trying to figure out what was wrong. the teammwb4u(uq" -- found the panda had steamed corn>ña bread lodged in its esophagus. the panda began feeling better once the corn bread was removed. who knew they eat corn bread, pandas in china! next, breaking news in walnut creek where police t involved in a shooting. suspected mail thief is caught red handed. [ inaudible ]

5 a.m. i'm katie marzullo in for kristen sze. i'm eric thomas. breaking news from the east bay police in walnut creek have shot someone. >> this is creek side drive near south main. the shooting happened at 3:15 this morning at an apartment complex. >> police are not saying what led to the shooting or giving information about the person or their condition. amy hollyfield is live at the scene right now talking to investigators. someone from the district attorney's office has arrived on the scene. more on the story coming up at 5:30. let's head over to the weather center and check in with mike.